adventures + observations in food + life

Tag Archives: housewarming

Or as I like to call it lately, my housewarming gift. In the past month or so, I’ve made it three times, each time for a party. I’m not a big drinker, but I do like making and bringing food. And that food being dessert. And eating it 🙂

I’m actually eating a few chocolate chips right now as my dessert. (Thanks, Dad.) The chocolate chips above and the ones that I’m having now are also leftovers from last spring when I made chocolate covered matzoh (also good). The chips were on sale, and I, well, may have bought several bags. They still taste good though.

It also wouldn’t be Espresso Lemon Chocolate Chip Banana Bread without the lemon! We need the zest!! Plus, saying four rather than five words before getting to “Bread” would also not be as fun.

And finally there’s the espresso powder. I’m currently working on a 11-ounce bag that still has the majority of its ounces despite a printed ‘best by’ date that’s best gone by. But hey, I’m not a big (coffee) drinker. I do like dessert though. And eating it 🙂

And with that, here’s the recipe!

Espresso Lemon Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 stick of butter

Zest from one lemon

2 eggs

3 ripe bananas

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 Tbsp espresso powder

Steps

Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in one bowl

Mix the sugar, butter, lemon zest, eggs, and bananas in another bowl (I used a handheld electronic mixer for this step; I also softened and cut the butter into pieces and cut the banana into pieces first)

Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture, and mix until smooth

Add the chocolate chips and espresso powder, and mix them in

Pour the mixture into a greased loaf pan

Bake for about an hour at 375 degrees

(Adapted from the Banana Bread Cockaigne recipe in The Joy of Cooking. I changed a few measurements and also made the coffee and chocolate additions :))

So far the feedback’s been very positive, as it also was a few months ago when an espresso powder and frozen blueberry brainstorm resulted in the similarly titled, Espresso Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake, which itself followed from the equally if not more awesome, Lemon Chocolate Chip Pound Cake.

The espresso powder definitely gives it something extra. It’s hard to place – sort of like a hearty, dense smoky sensation that doesn’t at the same time give it a smoky flavor. If you have two pans, make a double recipe with the espresso powder in one, and see what you think!

A better question is: How far is too far, to make a melon a death star?

The great thing about friends, and archived Facebook events, is that it makes this one an easy one too. Would you believe that it only takes six months?

Back in September last year, I went to a pair of friends’ housewarming party. And my contribution? A watermelon and a house plant. The former I selected from Stults Farm in Cranbury (I also got one for myself, pictured above), and the latter I plucked from my kitchen counter collection.

This is how the counter looks today. Time for a little plant plug tidying and planting, I believe.

Currently in stock are spider plants, purple hearts, and philodendrons (lots, some, and a few, respectively). Ready also, with some foreplanning, could be Tradescantia zebrina and a few others.

Anyone want a spider plant or purple heart???

I have plenty of pots waiting for new houseplants too (thank you periodic rummage sale attendance). I’ll make bringing the plants and pots together a weekend or coming week activity. This may also mean creating some more shelf space in my apartment, but as with something good to eat, with plants, we can always find more room.

As for the watermelon, I can say that two weeks does not a death star make. My friends ate theirs two weeks after the party, and it was still good. I’m not sure why I didn’t eat mine right away – maybe I had another melon at the same time from another farm – but at some point, maybe four weeks in, I did become interested in seeing how long it could last. Yes, the dark side of food curiosity.

The next Star Wars movie will be out in December, says the internet. But for a fresh, juicy, local watermelon, the wait is not so long. In Jersey and similar climes, we can start searching in mid-July: it’s coming soon to a farm stand, for you and me.